Obama administration urges U.S. justices to overturn anti-gay marriage law

February 22, 2013|Reuters

WASHINGTON, Feb 22 (Reuters) - The Obama administrationoutlined its argument on Friday why the U.S. Supreme Courtshould strike down a federal law that defines marriage asbetween a man and woman.

Solicitor General Donald Verrilli filed a brief with thecourt saying that section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act wasunconstitutional, expanding on the administration's approach tothe controversial 1996 law, which it has formally opposed sinceFebruary 2011.

Section 3 defines marriage under federal law as beingbetween a man and a woman.

The law denies federal benefits to same-sex married couplesthat are granted to married heterosexuals.

The administration's position is that the law violates theguarantee of equal protection under the law.

In the brief, Verrilli said there was a history ofdiscrimination against gays and lesbians that required theSupreme Court to take a careful look at any law thatspecifically targets them as a group.

He therefore urged the court to take an approach toanalyzing the law known as "heightened scrutiny," which, ifadopted by the court, could make it more likely the court wouldfind the law unconstitutional.

"The law denies to tens of thousands of same-sex couples whoare legally married under state law an array of importantfederal benefits that are available to legally married oppositesex couples," he wrote.

The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in the case onMarch 27, the day after it weighs the constitutionality of aCalifornia law, Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in thatstate.

The administration has until Thursday to decide whether toweigh in on Proposition 8.